A project about leaf litter decomposition on the forest floor is underway at IDENT (International Diversity Experiment Network with Trees) – a collaboration between the Paqlab and Raul Piexoto at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande Norte. For this study, we have placed baskets in every plot to collect leaves that fall from the trees. The leaves are collected every month to be analyzed in a lab where they are dried, sorted and weighed. The leaves are sorted into one of nine genera: firs, maples, birches, larches, spruces, pines, oaks, cedars and lindens. IDENT plots are varied in both their taxonomic and functional diversity, from monocultures to 12 species mixtures. Diversity is an important aspect to consider as leaves have slightly different chemical compositions between them and so different mixtures will provide a slightly different soil chemistry which in turn affects the trees. Knowing the composition of the genera covering the forest floor will help us understand how diversity influences the trees in that community.